In Grades 1-3 music classes, Ms. Christina led prepartions for a celebration of the Lunar New Year which starts Feb 10. The classes heard stories, sang songs in Chinese, and worked together to create this glorious dragon from cut outs of their own hands. You can see the dragon hanging in the lower school hallway.

From Tania Hernández, Lead Teacher

Our Sunflowers have been creating puppet plays to share with each other. They set everything up and tell all types of stories. Puppet Plays can improve language skills, foster creativity, and help the children develop self-confidence and social awareness. Children who are generally shy can benefit from the opportunity to let a puppet be their voice. Puppet plays are a rich counterbalance to the quickly changing pictures and potential overwhelm of media consumption with their calming rhythm, continuity, and the opportunity to live into a story at their own pace.

Children who are going to first grade next year have started loom weaving! In the Waldorf curriculum, handwork brings balance between intellectual and movement activities, while also allowing children to experience the struggle, focus, and joy of the creative process. The rhythmic repetition of knitting or weaving strengthens concentration and hand-eye coordination. Handwork can also help enhance math skills through counting rows and stitches. Children learn to correct their mistakes, value hard work, and develop a lot of patience.

From Tammy Gomper, WWS Librarian

There are a lot of new picture books in the library, including the recent Caldecott Medal Winner Big by Vashti Harrison, the first Black woman to win the Caldecott Medal! Learn more about Harrison and her book.

Below are some of our recent acquisitions with a focus on Black Biographies, Lunar New Year, and Valentines Day!

Help celebrate and recognize our amazing faculty!

WWS families annually honor and appreciate our hardworking, dedicated, and beloved faculty by offering them a delicious luncheon. This year's event is on Friday, Feb 23 in the school library.

We need your help in two ways: 1) setting up, staffing, and cleaning up, and 2) food offerings. Thank you in advance for your contributions of food and time -- the faculty treasures this chance to spend time together while sampling the delicious range of cuisines our families offer!

• Sign up to help with set up, staffing and clean up.
• Sign up to contribute food offerings. Please leave a comment saying what you plan to bring. Each class has a type of food assigned to it, but they are merely suggestions; if you’d like to contribute a type of dish that is assigned to a different class, go for it!

February

9-11/ Friday-Sunday

• Kimberton Basketball Tournament - High School Not in Session

13/ Tuesday

• Middle/High School Tour for Prospective Families, 9am

15/ Thursday

• Senior Night Basketball Games (see below)

16/ Friday

• No School for the Children's Garden & Lower School - CG & LS Parent-Teacher Conferences (as needed)
• 12:30 Dismissal for the High School

19-20/ Monday-Tuesday

• No School

21/ Wednesday

• Lunch Music - MS & HS Guitars, 12:35pm
• Trustees Council Meeting, 7pm (see below)

23/ Friday

• Faculty Appreciation Luncheon (see above)

27/ Tuesday

• Eurythmy Spring Valley Public Performance, 7:30pm (see below)

29/ Thursday

• G7 & G8 Dance, 7pm

View the Calendar of School Days for the 2023-2024 School Year

Senior Night

Thursday, Feb 15

Please note that Senior Night has been rescheduled from Feb 2 to Feb 15. Game schedule will be annouced soon.

We hope you will join us in the John & Mary Brauer Gym to celebrate our senior players and their parents as their high school basketball careers come to an end.

Trustees Council Meeting

Wednesday, Feb 21 at 7pm in the WWS library

(open to the community 7-7:45pm)

WWS Trustees Council (TC) meetings are held montly in the WWS library. They are typically scheduled for the third Tuesday of every month but, due to a professional development day on Feb 20,  this month's meeting will be held on Wed, Feb 21. 

The first 45 minutes of the meeting is open to the community, and all are welcome to attend. At the beginning of each TC meeting, there is a brief study of Waldorf Education/Anthroposophy. Following the study is a comprehensive report from our Head of School/Faculty Chair that includes updates from the various administrative departments of the school as well as other pertinent information. The Parent Leadership Group (PLG) also shares updates from their work with the school community during this portion of the meeting. 

Eurythmy Spring Valley Performance

Tuesday, Feb 27 at 7:30pm

The Greater Washington Branch of the Anthroposophical Society and the Washington Waldorf School look forward to hosting a visit of the Eurythmy Spring Valley touring group. The Branch will sponsor a public performance to be held at the school on Tuesday, Feb 27 at 7:30pm (approx 90 min program). The School will sponsor three assemblies for our students, one each for the Childrens' Garden, Lower School, and High School during the school day on Wednesday, Feb 28. 

You can help provide meals for the Eurythmy Spring Valley group.

If you are interested, please see the meal train page for information and to sign up.

Do you want to help out with the WWS Spring Gala?

We are recruiting Buy-In Party hosts to create experiences based on their talents and interests. Are you great at entertaining? Do you have a skill or craft you would like to teach others? Or would you just love to throw a dinner party for a good cause? Past Buy-In Parties included walking tours, family cookouts, classes, dinners, and children’s activities. If you are interested in hosting a Buy-In Party for our Spring Gala, please fill out the Gala Buy-In Party Donation Form. 

If you have questions, or are interested in hosting, but can’t decide what kind of experience you would like to host, we can help! Please email Meg Kneisl, Assistant Director of Development and Events.

This year’s Spring Gala will also include an exclusive Wine Cellar Silent Auction. Please help us by donating a bottle (or bottles!) of your favorite wine for others to bid on and enjoy. If you would like to donate, please fill out our Wine Donation Form. All donations should be brought to the Front Desk in a bag labeled with the donor’s name so they can be properly stored and their donation credited by the Development Office. If you have any questions about donating wine to the Wine Cellar Silent Auction, please email Meg Kneisl, Assistant Director of Development and Events.

Time for Three at Strathmore Next Week

Alum Nick Kendall ('97) and his Grammy award winning band Time for Three will play with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Starthmore on Feb 17 at 8pm.

Learn More & Buy Tickets

Some of you may have had the pleasure of attending the Tf3 concert in celebration of the WWS 50th Anniversary almost 4 years ago. Take a look back at this interview with Nick from that visit.

Summer camp registration is open!

For camp related questions, please contact camps@washingtonwaldorf.org.

We've reopened our Request for Proposal (RFP) for Financial Advisor Services for the school. Qualified providers are invited to submit their proposals by Feb 23, 2024. For any questions related to the RFP, please email ltrue@washingtonwaldorf.org.

Read the RFP

If you are a current family - first, check ParentSquare for posts from your teachers, departments (Children's Garden, Lower School, High School), and the administration.

If you cannot find the information you are looking for on ParentSquare, please email your department coordinator/administrator or our Operations Manager:

• Children's Garden Coordinator - Cecilia Berg-Benson
• Lower School Chair - Janet Dunwoody
• High School Administrator - Bonnie McClelland
• Operations Manager - Laur Garner

Building Bridges Program - Coming to the Baltimore/DC Area in March

We are delighted to announce the start of our Building Bridges Program in the Baltimore/DC region starting on March 9, 2024! Building Bridges sessions are designed as engaging and inspiring in-person learning experiences consisting of a series of workshops designed to introduce the anthroposophical foundations of Waldorf education through study, group discussion, and the practice of the arts. With in-person long weekends, supplemented with some virtual learning, participants in Building Bridges will earn the equivalent of the first semester of teacher education and, upon subsequent entry in Antioch University, can be awarded 7 graduate credits in advance standing.

Who should consider Building Bridges?

1. Part-time teachers already in a Waldorf school who might want to move towards full-time work as class teachers, subject teachers, or a high school training through CfA.
2. Parents in area Waldorf schools who are considering Waldorf teaching and see BB as a “try us out” opportunity.
3. Public school teachers looking to make a career change.

Participants need to have completed our Explorations (formerly Foundation Studies) Program or demonstrate equivalency through life experience and/or willingness to do the online courses simultaneously with the face-to-face BB courses. Tuition and schedules are on the website. We offer group discounts for three or more from one school.

Learn More & Register

Looking for a Loom

If you know of someone or an organization with a loom that they might donate to the school, please contact Cecilia Berg-Benson at cbergbenson@washingtonwaldorf.org.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITY: Exhibit Your Work at Main Street Gallery

From Barb Bancroft, Alum Family & Faculty

Main Street Apartments in Rockville is an inclusive community that brings together people with and without disabilities. You can see a little bit more about this wonderful community on their website.

Main Street typically has a resident artist who can display their works in the building and is expected to conduct two seminars over the course of several months. One is an introductory Zoom event to discuss your work, inspirations, influences, processes etc. The second is a hands-on workshop in the medium of your art for the building residents. This is a truly exceptional community and teaching here is tremendously rewarding and fun! Take a look at the information sheet attached and to reach out if you are interested.

The current artist had to withdraw unexpectedly, and they are seeking someone who can jump in quickly to fill the void. I think they’d be delighted to hear from artists who are available later in the year as well. You can contact Sharon at SharonC@mainstreetconnect.org and Isabel at IsabelG@mainstreetconnect.org to express interest and for more information. Learn more about the exhibition program at Main Street.

Service Opportunity In Georgetown

From Jennifer Page, Alum Parent & Former Faculty

I am sharing a service opportunity open to adults and HS students. It's cooking/hosting/serving a meal for unhoused friends in Georgetown run through the Georgetown Ministry Center which works with the homeless population in the Georgetown/GW area (I’m on the Board). The dinners will be served in the big activity room at St. John's Episcopal Church in Georgetown, but the dinners are not religious activities.

Dates: weekdays February 5-23 4-6pm with setup beginning at 3pm. 

If HS students are interested, I will commit to meeting with them ahead of time and being present with them on the evening they choose to serve.

Learn More & Sign Up

Best to everyone!

Jennifer

The Sword, The Pen, and The Arrow

Spacial Dynamics Summer Program Ages 11-16

From Judith Graff, Faculty & Alum Family

The fire of fencing

The lightness of the pen

The flash of the arrow

Freedom is born out of form and function

The young individual will be introduced to the disciplines of fencing, writing, and archery where goal-orientedness, word-smithing and social interaction pave the paths for sovereignty, inventiveness, and independence. The elegance, expression, and exactness of these three disciplines will remain with your child long after they have returned home from this life-altering experience. 

This unique summer program is designed to give middle schoolers, girls and boys ages 11 through 16, an invaluable experience that will last a lifetime.

Learn More & Register

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